Method for performing automatic valet parking

A method for performing automatic valet parking (AVP) on and/or beside a roadway, the method comprising:

• selecting, after activation by the driver of a motor vehicle, a road scenario applicable to the roadway from several pre-set scenarios or by the driver, wherein the pre-set scenarios include at least a parking space layouts longitudinal parking, vertical parking, and cross-parking;
• checking whether a road scenario has been selected;
• notifying the driver to release manual control elements of the motor vehicle and to leave the motor vehicle;
• checking whether the control elements have been released and that the driver has left the motor vehicle;
• if the control elements are released and the driver has left the motor vehicle, entering an EXPLORE mode in which the motor vehicle is slowly autonomously driven along the roadway by means of longitudinal and lateral controllers and searches for a free car space or a parking space using the vehicle's own environmental sensors;
• when a free car space or parking space of sufficient size for the motor vehicle has been found, placing the motor vehicle in a parking position suitable for parking and to stop there;
• and when the motor vehicle has reached the appropriate position for parking, changing from the EXPLORE mode to a PARKING mode in which the motor vehicle is parked autonomously in the car space or the parking space from the parking position by means of the longitudinal and lateral controllers and using the environmental data previously obtained by the environmental sensors in the EXPLORE mode and the environmental data continuously captured in the PARKING mode, wherein the motor vehicle is driven at a lower speed in the PARKING mode than in the EXPLORE mode, wherein four areas around the motor vehicle are monitored by means of the environmental sensors, wherein sizes of the monitored areas are gradually decreased as the speed decreases.

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory for storing executable instructions, the processor configured to execute the instructions to:
• select, after activation by a driver of a motor vehicle, a road scenario applicable to the roadway from several pre-set scenarios or by the driver, wherein the pre-set scenarios include at least a parking space layouts longitudinal parking, vertical parking, and cross-parking;
• check whether the road scenario has been selected;
• notify the driver to release manual control elements of the motor vehicle and to leave the motor vehicle;
• check whether the control elements have been released and that the driver has left the motor vehicle;
• if the control elements are released and the driver has left the motor vehicle, enter an EXPLORE mode in which the motor vehicle is slowly autonomously driven along the roadway by means of longitudinal and lateral controllers and searches for a free car space or a parking space using environment data from the vehicle's own environmental sensors;
• when the free car space or parking space of sufficient size for the motor vehicle has been found, place the motor vehicle in a parking position suitable for parking and to stop there;
• and
• when the motor vehicle has reached an appropriate position for parking, change from the EXPLORE mode to a PARKING mode in which the motor vehicle is parked autonomously in the free car space or the parking space from the parking position by means of the longitudinal and lateral controllers and using the environmental data previously obtained by the environmental sensors in the EXPLORE mode and the environmental data continuously captured in the PARKING mode, wherein the motor vehicle is driven along the roadway in the EXPLORE mode first at a constant speed of 10 km/h and in other phases of the EXPLORE mode at lower speeds than 10 km/h.